Driven by the tremendous growth of e-commerce, customer expectations have evolved, giving rise to new standards of customer experience. 

In this way, digital commerce is constantly facing an increase in touch points from which to offer a satisfactory experience. After this evolution, where is e-commerce headed?

Smooth and efficient experience

Despite the light at the other end of the pandemic tunnel, many people plan to stick with the online shopping habits they’ve developed over the past year.  

That’s true in all markets, according to the survey by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which surveyed consumers in several countries and found that “the majority of respondents” plan to continue shopping online even once there is past the threat of public contagion.

The big draws for many shoppers are curbside pickup and same-day delivery options. But many retailers are struggling to deliver the experiences shoppers expect. 

For example, Salesforce‘s 2020 State of the Connected Consumer survey found that 54% of customers say they “generally feel like sales, service, and marketing don’t share information,” but 76% expect a consistent merchant experience. 

Simplifying the curbside pickup and ordering process can help retailers deliver a better experience.

This requires analyzing how customers move through the process using site and app data as well as customer feedback to identify problem areas. 

For example, many supermarkets are still working to optimize pick-up time availability and reduce curbside wait times, which requires real-time data visibility and ongoing analytics.

Meanwhile, retailers must also make sure they offer shoppers the fast delivery options they want. 

The demand for same-day delivery, which increased dramatically during 2020, continues to rise, according to survey data from Digital Commerce 360 ​​and Bizrate.

Making it easier for customers to receive their purchases, whether curbside or same-day delivery, is the key to meeting consumer expectations for convenience now.

Frictionless mobile commerce

E-commerce is rapidly concentrating on the mobile channel as younger millennials and Gen Z rely on smartphones for virtually all of their online purchases, according to CRMBuyer.

Globally, Statista projects that mCommerce will account for 73% of total global online commerce by the end of this year.

However, that does not mean that the entire purchase process is done on a phone. 66% of customers in the Salesforce consumer survey say they have used more than one device to initiate and complete the same transaction.

These numbers illustrate two big CX challenges for traders now. First, the shopping experience must be optimized for mobile devices, with pages that load fast even when they have many images, navigation tools that are easy to see and touch, and a checkout that minimizes the number of steps and the amount of data of customers have to log in, while still validating their information behind the scenes.

Second, the customer experience must flow across all devices.  For example, someone who adds merchandise to a cart on their phone and returns their order later on a laptop doesn’t want to have to re-enter those items.

If they log in and find their cart empty, they can give up and shop elsewhere. As with curbside pickup, unified data and customer behavior monitoring can help merchants deliver the seamless experience customers expect no matter what device they’re using.

Personalization and recognition

Social commerce also got a boost during the pandemic, as more people spent time on social platforms and brands worked to get there.

In the beauty industry, some experts say time spent on social media has “replaced trips to the mall” to window shop and gather information. 

With highly targeted shopping ads and posts, social media users can easily pick up a few things while browsing, as long as the experience is smooth and easy.

That means when customers move from the social post or ad to the merchant’s app or site, they need to be recognized immediately. 

It’s jarring to be invited to make a purchase on your social feed only to be asked to re-identify when you try to purchase. That’s the kind of friction that drives buyers away.

Customers also want to use social channels to reach merchants when they have a question, and  79% say they get frustrated when they can’t use their preferred channel to get customer service.

Retailers that don’t offer social customer service should consider offering it on the channels where their target audience spends the most time, and use unified customer data to make it as efficient and personalized as possible.

Unifying data to reduce customer friction is the key to improving CX across the full spectrum of digital commerce, including social and mobile commerce. 

The big takeaway from this year is that customer expectations are higher than ever and delivering a true omnichannel experience across all devices and channels is what sets merchants apart now.

Conclusion

You can actually make a lot of changes to your online store to attract more customers and enhance the user experience.

These tweaks will work better the more you understand the kind of customer you want to sell to.

Increased website traffic and conversions can be achieved by taking the time to understand the characteristics of your potential customers and making decisions that enhance the user experience. Even better, you’ll keep your consumers so they keep coming back to shop with you.

Consequently, it is worthwhile!